Nothing Personal
by Laurahjess.xoxo
Summary: There is a serial killer on the loose who appears to be killing at random with no real motive, MO or pattern. Just one thing seems to connect the victims- two simple words. Nothing Personal. But as the case unfolds, it becomes clear that there is something much more sinister and very personal at work...
1. Chapter 1

1.

The roads were quiet, but she still had to drive carefully as the rain slashed through the sky and hit her windscreen at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour. The wipers swept backwards and forwards across the glass to clear the view, but then a split second later she could see nothing but raindrops and the darkness of night. Her headlights illuminated a sliver of the road in front of her car, but she had never seen such heavy rain and driving in it made her uneasy. The sooner she got home the better.

With a sigh of relief she pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. She looked up at the house and groaned at the sight of the dark windows with the curtains still wide open. She had specifically asked her Son this morning to make sure they were closed when he went to bed as she would be late home from work, but clearly he had ignored her request, or he wasn't home yet either. Glancing at the clock on her dash she read the time at 11.15. It had taken her fifteen minutes longer than usual to navigate her way home in the horrific weather. The thought of going into her empty dark house unsettled her slightly, but she was a forty something independent woman and she knew it was very much time to grow out of petty fears such as the dark.

Just as she was about to open her car door, there was a loud bang on her window and she screamed loudly as her heart leaped into her throat. She twisted around in her seat, her hands shielding her face against her attacker, when she saw the familiar eyes peering in at her. Her Son was stood on the other side of the glass getting drenched from the rain, his hands cupped around his eyes to see into the car, a big grin on his face as he laughed at his mother's terrified reaction.

"God damn it Sammy you don't do that to me, you hear!" she scolded as she swung her door open and stepped out into the downpour. Sammy laughed again as he led the way up the porch steps and unlocked the front door while she carried a pile of papers from the passenger's seat into the house.

"How come you're home so late anyway?" she asked, dumping the car keys in the key dish and turning to switch on the lights. The house remained in darkness and she cursed at the electricity for failing again. This was the third time this month that the power in her home, and several other houses across the street, had cut off. Sammy shut and bolted the door behind them as always and rooted in the drawer for the two torches they had purchased especially for these occasions. The beam of light from his torch fell on his Mum while she found the on switch for the second torch.

"I'll call the company again tomorrow; we can't have this keep happening. Do you know where the generator is?" she asked as she slipped her shoes off and ran a hand through her wet hair.

"I'll sort it, you go sit down," Sammy said and the hallway slowly faded back into darkness as he used his light to lead his way down to the basement to find the emergency generator which would keep the power going for several hours.

While her Son disappeared to take care of it, she used her torch to find her way upstairs. In her old house, the one she had lived happily married in for over fifteen years, she would have been able to pick her way to her bedroom quite easily in the dark. But ever since the divorce and the new house, she had felt increasingly blind during the black outs.

A loud thud and a crashing sound as if pots were being dropped in the kitchen made her stop in the middle of the staircase. Apparently Sammy was having the same issue of not quite knowing his way around in the dark. She rolled her eyes and continued taking the stairs slowly, when another clattering and smashing sound made her stop in her tracks. A slow ice cold shiver rippled down her spine, getting right under her skin and she took in a shaky breath.

"Sammy?" she called out, fearing he had hurt himself.

No response.

With a frown, she turned back on herself and made her way back down the stairs. She swung the torch beam down the hallway and into the kitchen, and for the second time that night her heart skipped a beat. Only this time, the fear was real. She felt her fingers release their grip on the torch and heard it thud to the carpet, the light blinking once and then cutting off. She opened her mouth to scream as she turned to run, but the bullet was faster than her feet. The scream caught in her throat and her body hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

JJ sighed as she looked over the last case file. She glanced down at her watch and took a second to close her eyes and push gently against her temples with her fingertips to try and ease the pressure of the headache which had been threatening to develop all evening. It was late, almost eleven, and she had promised Will she would be home soon. That had been over an hour ago. A knock on the door made her jump slightly and she cleared her throat just as Hotch poked his head into her office.

"It's late," he stated, "Everyone else has gone home. I was just leaving but I saw the light," he added, gesturing towards the lamp on her desk.

"Yeah I was just going over some of the potential new cases, they've been mounting up while we've been away," she said, casting her eyes down at the folder open on her desk. There were two piles either side of her, ones she had discarded straight away for being too low profile for the FBI and then the other with files she would scan through again to select the cases that the Behavioural Analysis Team should take on.

JJ's days consisted of reading through every potential case for the BAU, looking through photos of crime scenes and dead bodies. There was a lot to go through, and every case came across her desk before she presented it to the rest of the team. She saw everything, even the cases they didn't take on. She never complained about the amount of paperwork because she loved her job, no matter how hard it could be. But sometimes the gruesome crimes that she would read about every day could get under her skin and she wondered if the work she and her team did was ever really worth it. When one case was closed, a hundred more files found their way onto JJ's desk. Did any of it make a difference? For every one case the FBI's BAU took on, another ten or twenty were ignored. It was hard work choosing which cases needed the FBI's special attention, because many that made it onto her desk were not cases the FBI could afford to spend time on. Small domestic disputes, appeals from convicted killers put behind bars, single murders in big cities. She had to pick her way through the files carefully, looking for patterns in bodies found, threats to national security, missing persons which suggested a serial killer at large. It was time consuming, and sometimes heart wrenching, especially when they involved children.

"You've been working hard JJ, go home," Hotch said.

"There's still paperwork to do from Chicago…" she began.

"It will still be there tomorrow, we only got back today. Go and see your son," her Unit Chief said and before she could argue he added with a slight smile, "That's an order. Goodnight."

* * *

It was almost half eleven by the time JJ pulled into her driveway. She could see from the car that Henry's bedroom curtains were closed and there was a soft glow lighting his room which signalled the use of the night light. JJ sighed gently. Henry had stopped needing to sleep with the night light a few months ago, but since she had been working late again, Henry had complained about the dark and both Will and JJ had agreed to use it again.

JJ tried hard to keep her work separate from her family, but with her unreliable work hours which required her to be away from home sometimes for days at a time, it was understandable that her Son was affected. As much as she loved her job, she loved Henry so much more and would do anything to keep the monsters she worked with, far from the home she lived in.

There was the sound of hushed masculine laughter as JJ unlocked the front door and let herself in. Sometimes Will would already be in bed by the time she got away from the office, but it appeared that tonight was one of the rare occasions that he had friends round late. She hung her keys on the hook and dumped her away bag at the bottom of the stairs before heading into the kitchen where the noise was coming from. Her husband was slouched on a bar stool, one hand draped on the breakfast bar, and the other holding a can of beer to his lips. As she entered, he held the can up to her and smiled warmly.

"And here she is, my beautiful wife," he called, and her spirits were automatically lifted. He stood up off the stool and she walked into his embrace, breathing in the familiar scent of home. Another man was seated in the seat opposite him, and she turned to face him with one arm still wrapped around Will. He draped an arm across her shoulders and tilted his head to kiss her temple. The other man was Simon, Will's best friend and a good friend of the family. Will and Simon had known each other a long time, after becoming firm friends in college. Simon was often at the house and JJ and Henry had come to know him well. He was a tall good looking man with shaggy jet black hair and sparkling green eyes. He was always cheerfully warm and friendly as was his wife, Tanya, who JJ knew well and she was pleased to see Simon here tonight.

"Good to see you Simon," JJ smiled.

"A pleasure as always to see you Jenny," he grinned, knowing the nick name was one that JJ hated. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help matching his playful smile. He was a joker, and he liked to tease anybody at any chance he could.

"How was your trip?" Will asked, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.

"Quick, took us two days to catch the guy. He wasn't very smart, just a lonely kid crying out for attention," JJ shrugged.

"When I want attention I sulk for a while until someone notices, I don't kill people…" Simon snorted with a slight shake of his head before taking a long pull from his beer.

"Tell me about it," JJ sighed, "anyway it was a long two days and I haven't had much sleep so I think I'm going to head straight to bed."

"I'll just finish this and then I'll give you your husband back," Simon grinned with a wink and the two men clanked their cans together like two college students making a pact.

After climbing the stairs, JJ crawled fully clothed onto the bed so she could rest for just a moment, but in seconds she had drifted into the deepest sleep she had had in days.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Mrs Halsall pushed her trolley towards where she had parked her car in the underground parking lot, struggling to keep her control of it while fighting to keep her handbag on her shoulder and her mobile phone pressed to her ear.

"Yes I know you and your husband had a deposit down on the house but the sellers on the other side withdrew their offer and there is nothing more I can do for you. Yes. No. That's correct. Hold on one second please."

She dug in her heels and pulled the shopping cart to a bumpy halt beside her car. She began fishing in her handbag for her keys with her free hand while she kept the trolley still with the other and balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear. With a clunk her bag dropped to the ground and all her belongings spilled out. Resisting the urge to swear loudly, Mrs Halsall took a deep breath, fighting to keep her patience, and readjusted the phone so she was holding it.

"I'm aware that in the current economic climate that sale was an absolute blessing, but once the client on the other end pulls out I'm afraid there is little more my company can offer for you," she said as calmly as she could. The woman on the other end of the line was not impressed with the situation, and Mrs Halsall had to admit that it was rare for anybody to withdraw from a sale so late in the game. And yet it happened, and when it did, she was the lucky lady who got to deal with the furious clients.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you Miss Baker, but I can assure you my company will do all they can to help you find another property," she sighed, exasperated with the way her day had gone. It was almost eight and she had only just managed to get to the supermarket to do her weekly food shop. She had been in the office since nine in the morning correcting paperwork which had been wrongly printed, sorting several cases of void payments and dealing with unhappy clients whose deals had fallen through. It had been a day of one phone call after another.

After collecting her belongings together and scooping them back into her handbag Mrs Halsall found her keys and unlocked the boot. She unloaded the shopping bags into her car and as she rounded the vehicle somebody stepped out from in front of the car where they had been crouching. She almost leaped out of her skin, but the man was smiling warmly and when he saw her reaction to his presence he took a step back and held up his hands to show his intentions were innocent.

"Sorry mam, I didn't mean to startle you, it's just I couldn't help but notice that one of your front tires is flat and I was just inspecting. I heard your footsteps and well I thought it best to tell you," he smiled with a shaky laugh. Mrs Halsall let out a slow sigh of what could have been relief or annoyance; even she wasn't sure which.

"Want me to show you, I might be able to help you pop the spare on if you like?" he offered, nodding his head towards the front tires. She stepped around the car to join him in inspecting the wheel. She dropped to a crouch herself and sure enough the rubber of the front right tire was baggy and loose. The man was stood up beside her and as she straightened he slipped an arm around her waist. This gesture was totally unexpected and Mrs Halsall tried to move away, but the man tightened his grasp and swiveled her around so that her back was pressed against his chest.

"That rule of talking to strangers should still apply when you leave childhood you know," he hissed in her ear, his voice low and threatening. Everything about the man she had just been speaking to had changed, and suddenly she felt terrified. She let out a small whimper and tried to wriggle free, but his grip was tight, holding both her arms in front of her body with one hand and her waist with the other.

"My purse is in my handbag, take anything you want," she sniffled as tears filled her eyes, her whole body shaking.

"I don't want your money," the man scoffed, "what I want is far more valuable than anything in your purse. Goodnight Mrs Halsall."

And then in one swift movement, he grabbed hold of her hair and slammed her head down hard against the hood of her car. Her forehead connected with the metal of the bonnet with a sickening crack and she grunted as everything around her was cast into shadow. Subconsciously she was aware of the sound of a dull thud, and as her awareness was beginning to fade, she realised it was the sound of her own body hitting the concrete floor.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

JJ woke the next morning in time to take Henry to school. Usually he would be dropped off early at the child minders as she and Will both worked early mornings, and then he would be picked up by her too. JJ had missed her Son while she'd been away, so after waking up she rang Caroline and told her that she would do the school run this morning.

The small seven year old was smiling from ear to ear as JJ helped him into his coat and then followed him to the car and strapped him into his car seat.

"…and then Max told Abigail that he wouldn't be her friend if she told off him but Mrs Marks was in a bad mood and she heard him and shouted at him for being mean to Abigail…" he chattered, not stopping speaking for one second to give JJ time to respond, or even to take a breath. She listened to his stories and glanced in her rear view mirror to watch his exasperated expression and outstretched hands as she revelled in the beauty of the trivial matters of playground conflict. It was such a nice change to think about Henry's issues instead of the criminals she hunted every day. The innocence of his world was so important to JJ and she wanted to preserve that innocence for as long as she could. She wasn't an over protective parent, but she was very aware of the harsh realities of the real world and the monsters that walked amongst them.

"…and then she told him to shut up and he started crying but I wanted him to stop shouting too so I didn't tell Mrs Marks but Oliver did and we all got into trouble for being mean!" Henry continued, his voice full of emotion at the shock of it all. JJ smiled at him through the mirror and couldn't help but laugh at his incredulous expression.

"How unfair is that Mummy!" he added, his mouth hanging open and his eyebrows raised as he waited for his Mum's input.

"Don't you worry sweetie, sometimes teachers have to be nicer to the children who have been crying," JJ reassured him and this seemed to satisfy him enough to drop his hands back into his lap and soften his expression.

"What's for tea?" he asked, all of his worries forgotten in the blink of an eye.

Just after JJ dropped Henry off at his classroom she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She'd missed a call off Hotch and there was also a text message calling her in to the office. She sighed gently and returned the phone to her pocket.

* * *

The team were seated around the round table in the conference room when she arrived at work. The only other person missing was Garcia. She excused herself for being late and took a seat opposite Reid. Just as she did, Penelope burst through the door and tottered inside. She was wearing a knee length purple dress with a tutu underskirt, pink and white polka dot tights and orange pixie boots. Her hair was pinned high on her head in two bunched buns, topped off with fluffy pink hair ties and a bunny hair clip pulling her fringe away from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry I'm late my liege, my computer systems were all down and I couldn't work out why because I have a quick resume system, but I found out the cause and I've sorted it all out it was user error, completely my bad, but all security checks have been performed and we are good to go," Penelope explained in a rush as she fumbled with her seat beside Morgan and fished her laptop out of her large green sequined hand bag.

"Don't worry about it," Hotch said, standing up in front of the white screen with an open brown case file in one hand and the projector remote in the other, "Now I'm aware that this is normally JJ's place to present you with our cases but I had a phone call late last night which concerned a case that hasn't been passed to her yet." He continued, addressing JJ more than the rest of the team. She leaned forward on her elbows on the desk, curious as to what was so important that it bypassed her and found its way directly into the Unit Chief's hands.

"Two bodies have been discovered in Quantico in under two weeks. The first, Mrs Jane Rhodes was discovered on Monday in her home by her seventeen year old Son who was there at the time of the attack. She was shot once in the chest. The second, Jessica Halsall, was found by a passer-by this morning in an underground car park. She was strangled. Nothing appears to have been taken from either crime scene, no sign of sexual assault," Hotch explained as he read notes from the file in his hand. One at a time images of the two women flashed up on the screen and then pictures of the crime scene. At first glance there were no similarities in either scene, and no obvious similarities in the appearance of the two women. Jane's passport image showed a rather plump 45 year old woman with chubby cheeks and round glasses perched on a straight nose. Her hair was black and cropped to just below her chin. Jessica's showed a blonde 33 year old with long blonde curls and large plump lips which looked unlikely to be natural.

"What links them?" Morgan asked, dragging a hand across his lips and frowning up at the screen.

"Despite the difference in MO, both victims had their throats cut post mortem and one other thing suggests they're linked," Hotch continued. As he did, he pulled up two images side by side. The first was Jane's body lying on the mortuary slab, her skin pale and white from the lack of circulation and her eyes frozen closed. A white sheet was pulled up across her body and the only part of her showing was her face. She had been cleaned and the wound in her neck stitched, but her forehead was stained with the words 'Nothing Personal' scrawled on her skin with what looked like blood. The second was Jessica's body, but instead of the words scribbled on her face, the red writing was marked on her forearm, the words jagged and sharp.

"Red marker," Hotch said, "the unsub brought it with him which suggests premeditation and also links the victims."

"Why did this case skip past my desk?" JJ asked, curious.

"The change in MO and victimology suggests a smart and ruthless serial killer. Quantico Police Department don't have the man power to investigate a serial crime and the only linking evidence is scarce. They need us, and this case might prove to be a difficult one," Hotch said.

As he had been speaking, Garcia's fingers had been flying across the keyboard on her laptop. "Ian Brady and Barack Obama have more in common than these two poor souls…" she muttered, shaking her head and biting her lip gently. "They were two very different people my lovelies; born in separate hospitals, grew up in different neighbourhoods, went to different schools, colleges, universities, shopped in different stores, ate different cereals for breakfast, one was divorced, one was married… I can't find a single link on the surface of their lives," she shook her head again.

"Keep digging Garcia," Hotch said before turning to the rest of the team, "judging by his time frame we should be expecting another body by the end of the week."


	5. Chapter 5

5.

He'd been following her for days; watching her. He had learned quickly that she didn't stray far from her routine. He knew she had worked hard to keep her identity hidden ever since the incident several years ago, but it hadn't been hard to track her down and find her. She was precious, small and dainty, vulnerable- just how he liked them.

At exactly seven o'clock, just like clockwork, the main doors to Hollie's apartment building opened and the dark haired girl stepped out into the rain. The world knew her as nothing other than Hollie, but he knew better than the rest of the world. She fumbled with the multi-coloured umbrella in her hands and it opened up with a pop, struggling just slightly against the wind. She checked both ways down the street before stepping onto the sidewalk and hurrying down the road. She was on her way to meet a friend and ex-counsellor Carrie. This happened every Tuesday, and she was always made it and she always made it on time no matter what. He watched from a safe distance before stepping away from the curb and crossing the road to follow. She wasn't going to be on time this evening. She wasn't going to meet Carrie at the restaurant at seven fifteen like all Tuesdays. She wasn't going to make it to the morning.

As she passed Seventh Street, he ducked behind the dumpster and onto the parallel street. He doubled round and slipped into the alley way which fed pedestrians from one street to the next and would bring him out onto Hollie's road. He had done this run before and he knew that in just two minutes she would walk past the opening to the dark alley. When she did, he would be ready.

And he was. He kept low, and heard her footsteps approaching through the puddles. Just as her slight figure passed the entrance to the alley, he stepped out behind her from where he was positioned, one hand snaking around her neck to cover her mouth and the other pressing the knife to her throat.

"Keep it quiet or you won't live to see the morning light," he hissed in her ear as he dragged her down the narrow alley. He could feel her scream under his hand and it felt good to have such power over such a fragile thing. He pressed her against the wall away from view of the road. The umbrella shattered to the floor and Hollie's knees buckled beneath her. He faltered slightly under her weight but once he braced himself he steadied her against the brick. He knocked her legs slightly apart and pressed his body against hers. She was a lot smaller than him which worked perfectly as he leaned over her. Her eyes were wide and as he stared into the whites of her pupils he felt a huge wave of power and pleasure wash over him. His lips tilted into a smirk and he blew out a high pitched whistle between his teeth.

"Please don't hurt me, please, I'm begging you…" she sobbed as he leaned more pressure on his arm pressed against her throat, "I don't have any money, but you can take my purse, my card…" she squealed, clawing at the flesh blocking her windpipe. Tears sprung to her eyes and dripped down her cheeks, mixing with the rain which spilled across her skin.

"I don't want your money, Hollie," he spat her name out like it was poisonous. Then he slid his free hand to the waist band of her jeans. Her entire body tensed up more than it already was and a new sound escaped her lips.

"No please, oh God!" she howled.

The sound was music to his ears and he couldn't help but drop his head backwards and laugh; a deep true noise from the back of his throat. When he snapped his eyes back to hers, she was whispering under her breath.

"You think I'd touch a filthy whore like you," he hissed in her ear, his lips grazing her jawline. Her body was shaking and it was all because of him. He felt good knowing this. Her worst fears were coming true, reliving the terrible ordeal which she had already experienced. Nobody would wish it upon anybody, but he wanted nothing more than to see the fear in her eyes.

She continued to mumble quietly. It sounded like a prayer and this made him angry.

"You think God can hear you? You think God wants to help people like you? There is no God," he whispered, and then he plunged the blade into her stomach.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

The team received the phone call early Wednesday afternoon that another body had been found. They could see a change in Hotch's face as he ended the call and slid his cell back inside his jacket pocket; the slight tightening of his jaw and darkening of his eyes told them everything they needed to know. Without another word, coats were collected and they spilled out of the office and headed towards the SUV's. Hotch told them the address of the site and they separated into the vehicles.

Although nobody had said anything, their fears had been confirmed that this was a serial investigation and not the work of a one off killer. Garcia was yet to find any linking factors in the first two women, so they were going to this new victim blind of any information.

Just as they had all expected, this woman was totally different to the first two. She was young, no older than 25 with olive skin, dark brown mid length hair and green eyes. She was wearing tight black jeans and a simple button down blouse, but her trousers were pulled down all the way with only one ankle remaining inside. The team's first impression was that she had been sexually assaulted, but that could only be confirmed on further inspection back at the mortuary. Scribbled on her inner thigh in aggressively sharp red letters were the words 'nothing personal'. The victimology was not the only thing that was different. This MO was not the same as the first or second murder. The cause of death appeared to be a single stab wound to the stomach and she had also suffered a single slice across her throat. She was lying slumped against the alleyway wall, a broken umbrella lying on the wet ground beside her. The rain had caused the blood from her wounds to soak through her white chiffon blouse and spread across the thin material.

"Is he experimenting with his weapon of choice?" Blake asked as they stood over the body.

"He knows exactly what he's doing with each murder, one clean bullet wound, blunt force trauma to avoid noise and then asphyxiation, one single stab wound…" Hotch replied with a slight shake of his head as he crouched beside the girl and touched her leg gently with his gloved fingers to inspect the lettering. The ink had smudged slightly in the rain.

"Maybe he's seeing which one he enjoys the most? He favours the knife because he brings it to each crime scene for the throat," Blake tried again.

"I think he's trying to throw us off. He knew we'd know the cases were connected because of this and the neck wound," Hotch said, pointing to the words, "but he wants us to know that he's capable of anything. I think its power, not weakness."

"Has anybody managed to ID the body?" asked JJ who stood a little further back than the rest of the team.

"Her name is Hollie Jacobs and she's 21 years old," a man said to her left and she turned to face him. He smiled sadly at her and held up his credentials, "Detective Tony Sidle, Quantico PD," he said and JJ offered him her hand.

"Jenifer Jareau from the FBI, this is my team," she said, gesturing to the other BAU members and introducing them one at a time.

"So you're the man I spoke with on the phone?" Sidle smiled, shaking Hotch's hand.

"That's me," Hotch replied, "so what do we know about Hollie?"

"Not a lot, she's new to the area and I wasn't able to find much on her," Sidle shrugged, "it's sad really. No details of parents, no school record, and even her medical records go cold. There isn't a lot we know about her."

"Get Garcia on it, see what she can dig up," Hotch said to Morgan over his shoulder. Derek nodded and turned away to call the BAU's technology genius. He returned to where he had been stood moments later with news that Garcia would call back upon finding any information.

"There isn't anything else we can take from this scene, we'll meet back at the mortuary when the post mortem has been completed to get up to date with everything," Hotch said to the rest of them as the body was zipped into a body bag and moved onto a gurney.

Just as the team were folding themselves back into the SUV's, Morgan's phone chirped to life in his jeans pocket. He fished it out and pressed the receiver against his ear.

"Talk to me," he grinned.

"Forever and always handsome," Garcia's voice was tinted with the triumphant smile that was surely plastered to her face.

"What have you got for us, you're on speaker Garcia?" Morgan cooed.

"Well my lovelies, Hollie's story is a little more interesting than our previous victims. I mean, I'm not disrespecting the dead or anything but… Anyway, Hollie Jacobs arrived in Quantico this past March and previously was resident in California. Before she was Hollie Jacobs, she had a different identity which has been erased from record for her own protection," Penelope Garcia explained, speaking fast as she relayed the information back to the team.

"What happened to cause the state to give her a new identity?" Hotch asked as he drove.

"Well, her records do not state her birth name as of yet but I'll keep digging. Whoever she was before, she experienced a terrible ordeal between the years 2008 and 2010. She was stalked from the age of 16 by an absolute creep it sounds. Several police reports from her parents were filed with concerns for their daughters safety," Garcia continued, her fingers tapping away at the keys on her keyboard as she dug deeper into Hollie's past.

"I mean really dark stuff here fellows, he sent her spooky letters, pictures of her even in her bedroom window, gifts delivered to her home, her school, and both her parents' houses. This guy threatened her friends, family, schoolmates to the point where her family moved her out of the school and they moved towns. The stalking stopped for a month and then the letters began again, a lot more aggressive stuff, death threats, threatening sketches the lot. Then in 2010 Hollie Jacobs was raped in an alleyway on her way home from a party," Garcia said, her voice dropping darkly as she revealed the horrors which she was reading on her screen, "he cut her up pretty bad and left her for dead. When he was never found and pictures of the rape were put up on various social media sites, Hollie's past identity was expunged and she was given a new one to protect her from this maniac."

"Seems like she had a pretty rough time of it…" Morgan mumbled.

"Do you think he could be our guy?" Blake asked.

"The first two murders were unrelated to this case, and her stalker didn't kill her the first time when he had the chance so I doubt it was about killing her for him. After she disappeared, it's highly likely that he went on to stalk other girls," Reid chipped in, "but I do think it's also possible that our unsub knew about Hollie's past. I think we'll find she wasn't sexually assaulted before she was murdered, but emotionally tormented by the killer who knew what she'd been through and used it to his advantage. I think he chose her thigh to let us know that he is aware of who Hollie was before," he continued, staring straight ahead as he told the rest of the SUV his theory.

"Can you find out who Hollie was before, Garcia? It might help us work out how he is finding and picking his victims," Hotch ordered.

"I'm on it my liege, Garcia out."


	7. Chapter 7

7.

He was tired, so tired. It had been a long day, a long few days, and he was tired of thinking. It was his night off, and he was going to make the most of it. He smiled at his reflection in the mirror, pleased with what he saw. It was hard to deny the fact that he was a good looking man. Not only was he easy on the eye, but he had a way with words which caused women to lose their ability to think straight. He used this to his advantage, and tonight he planned to do just that.

Shrugging his shoulders into his shirt, he took one last appreciative look at himself before slowly fastening the buttons to the top. He paused at the top button, smirked, and left it open to reveal the top of his collarbone.

* * *

The club was packed from wall to wall with gyrating bodies. The music reverberated off the walls and the air appeared to pulse around his body as he moved through the crowds towards the bar. Women turned their heads as he passed and even the occasional man glanced his way. With a satisfied smirk, he placed his elbows on the smooth counter of the bar and caught the eye of a pretty blonde bartender. She nodded his way to let him know he was next, and then served the man two barstools away from where he stood. He watched her as she placed two glasses in front of the other customer and filled them simultaneously with a clear spirit and then topped them up with what looked like Coke. She was fast, swapping money for drinks and then handing change back in the blink of an eye. Within seconds of him spotting her, she was moving towards him.

"What can I get for you?" she smiled, her big bright blue eyes sparkling up at him beneath heavy dark makeup. She was pretty, and young, maybe only eighteen or nineteen, with well-defined cheekbones and strong straight teeth that many teenagers were paying for. She wore a tight fitted black dress which hugged her slim figure nicely, showing the perfect combination of leg and cleavage. A name tag hung around her neck on a lanyard with what he assumed was a locker key.

"Vodka and lime please sweetheart," he smiled slowly after giving her a long glance up and down. She noticed his lingering eyes on her breasts but did not complain or try to sort her dress out to cover more of her like many girls would have done. Instead, she placed a hand on her hip and leaned against the bar slightly towards him to give him a better angle.

"Free shot of Sambuca if you make it a double," she called over the loud music, nodding towards the blackboard behind her where the deal was scrawled in large pink letters. He glanced at it briefly before returning his gaze to her dainty face. Her light blonde hair was scraped back on top of her head in a messy bun and several strands were pulled loose to frame her face. She wore a pair of silver hooped earrings which reminded him somewhat of a gypsy.

"Why not," he replied and she spun around away from him to fetch his order. She was back in less than a minute with the shot and began making his drink in front of him, her skilled fingers popping the top off the lime soda bottle and spilling the vodka over the ice at the same time. Her eyes never left his while she worked, her seductive smile never leaving her pink tinted lips. He raised the small glass to his lips and knocked back the shot of sharp tasting liquid before slamming the empty glass back down on the bar. He screwed up his eyes and pursed his lips as the alcohol washed over his taste buds and down his throat.

"Nasty," he muttered.

"If you like," the bartender smirked and slid his vodka lime towards him, "that's three fifty please."

"Take one for yourself too honey, but write your number down just here with that," he said as he handed her a fiver. Her pink painted fingernails were long and manicured and she swiped the money from his fingers like pincers. She lifted the Sambuca bottle from beneath the bar and filled the shot glass he had just used before downing the alcohol. Once she'd slammed the glass back down on the counter, she winked at him and cashed the money in the till. When she returned, she gestured for him to give her his hand. As he did, she scrawled her number down on his palm.

"I get off at three," she called, and then her attention was cast away to deal with the many demanding men and women all wanting to get drunk.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

The crime scene was different. What did they expect? Nothing about this unsub followed a pattern. The only thing the same about this murderer was that he was never consistent. JJ shook her head and ran a hand through her hair as she paced back and forth beside the body of nineteen year old Roxie Hendriks. He wasn't even leaving a week between kills; barely days. He was ten steps ahead of the FBI and they couldn't catch up with him because they had nothing to go off, no motive, no connecting victimology, nothing.

"She was a student at the local college, first year. She worked at Hollywell, a club down the road for extra money and visited her parents on Fifth every other weekend. Good kid," Tony Sidle, the main police detective on the case, sighed as he read through a report held between his fingers.

"This is overkill," Hotch said with a frown from where he stood looking down at Roxie's body.

"Is this not just another kind of killing?" JJ asked, "I mean, it could just be another MO that he's exploring."

"None of the other victims have been fully undressed. She's been stabbed multiple times, and there's no writing on her body. I think she was different," Reid said.

"Maybe she and Hollie were sexually targeted? They're the closest in age and the most similar in MO," Morgan suggested.

"What if he met her in the club where she works?" JJ tried.

"It's a possibility. Can someone find out if she was working last night?" Tony Sidle nodded his head and turned his back on the crime scene. Just then, a phone chirped to life and Hotch fished in his jacket pocket for his cell.

"So maybe last night he wasn't looking for another victim, he met Roxie at the club and because she didn't want him, he killed her in rage?" Morgan suggested.

"Or she went with him willingly but the urge to kill was too strong," Reid brainstormed.

"That was the coroner on the phone," Hotch said, disturbing the flow of ideas, "no sign of sexual assault on Hollie Jacobs before or after she was killed. The fact that this unsub unclothed her partially and then wrote his mark on her thigh could just be placement." He explained.

"Thank god for small mercies then, hey," JJ muttered, dragging a hand across her jaw.

* * *

It had been a long day. JJ had interviewed Roxie's parents and it had been emotionally exhausting. Her Mother, Susanne, was distraught. Roxie was her only child and she had treasured her more than anything else in the world. They had been so proud of her achievements, and claimed that her life was looking up now that she had a placement on a college course. Despite working in a bar, she had planned on being a nurse. There were no crazy ex-boyfriends, nobody held any vendettas or grudges against her and she had only ever fallen out with her best friend once. Neither parent could think of a single person who would want to hurt their daughter. Mr Hendriks had said barely anything the entire interview. His eyes were shadowed by a deep sadness which would never go away, and the corners of his lips were pulled down in a grimace which JJ knew would become permanent for a long time. He looked down at his hands the whole interview, speaking in a flat heartbroken tone on the rare occasion. This was a broken family now, and JJ would walk away after delivering the worst news imaginable. There was nothing she could do or say to help them, or make any of it any better. They were in mourning for their only daughter, and JJ's heart broke for them.

"I'm so sorry to ask you this, but if there is anything you know which could help aid our investigation then please give us a call," JJ finished, moving to stand. She had seen and heard all she needed to. She was leaving with as little information about Roxie as when she arrived. Susanne's shoulders were shaking softly with silent sobs and JJ leaned forward to touch a hand to the grieving woman.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said. Mr Hendriks cleared his throat shakily and got to his feet. With a forced flash of a smile he showed her the way to the door. Just as she turned to leave, JJ met Mr Hendriks eyes and reached for his hand.

"I swear to you, we will find the man responsible for this," she whispered. With a small nod, Mr Hendriks squeezed JJ's fingers tightly and then shut the door.

* * *

When she returned home that evening, JJ headed straight up the stairs to see Henry. The sleeping child was snoring softly in his room, and she stroked his hair away from his face with a smile. At her touch, he groaned and pushed her hand away in his sleep. She couldn't help but grin at this, and after straightening the duvet around his pyjama clad body, she left the room silently.

"Heavy day?" Will's voice outside the door made her jump slightly, but she beamed up at him happily and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I never want to lose you guys," she mumbled into his neck.

"Hey, we're not going anywhere," he laughed, peeling JJ off him and holding her at arms-length, "come on, let's have a drink."


	9. Chapter 9

9.

The newlyweds settled their luggage down in the hallway and breathed a sigh of relief at being home at last. Julie felt the warm familiar arms of her new husband circle her waist and she leaned back against him. He kissed the back of her neck and she smiled at his touch.

"You're now the proud owner of a new last name Mrs Jessops," he mumbled against her skin.

"Julie Jessops," she replied, tasting the words which sent a tingle across her skin, "has a ring to it doesn't it Mr Jessops." She grinned.

"It does, and so do you," her husband smiled, taking her left hand in his and slotting his fingers between hers. He turned their hands over so he could examine the silver band on her ring finger. The stone was small and simple, understated to say the least, and the band was set with tiny diamonds which sparkled in the light. It wasn't that he couldn't afford a larger more expensive diamond, but Julie wasn't the sort of girl who needed flashy jewellery.

"I love it Michael," she whispered, turning to face him and sliding her arms up his chest and around his neck.

Suddenly there was the sound of shattered glass coming from the kitchen, startling the couple. Julie let out a scream and Michael pulled her behind him in one swift movement. They stood listening out for any other sound in the house, but there was a deep silence which followed, interrupted only by the sound of Julie's heartbeat.

"Is anybody there?" Michael called out. When there was no response, he started down the hallway.

"No Michael, just call the police," Julie whimpered.

"Stay here, I'm sure it's nothing," he said to her as he took her by the shoulders, "I'm just going to take a look."

She nodded and put a hand over her mouth as Michael headed towards the kitchen. He disappeared into the darkness at the end of the hall and seconds later he flicked the kitchen light on. He stood in the open space and looked around before turning to face Julie with a frown.

"Someone's thrown a brick through the back door," he called and she could hear the anger in his voice. Julie let out a frustrated sigh and headed towards him when there was the sound of a door being flung open and hurried footsteps crunching on the broken glass. A man in a black coat and ski mask moved towards Michael, and Julie let out a high pitched scream of warning. She was too late, and the blade plunged into his back before he had time to spin around. He crumpled forwards and landed on his hands and knees, a rattling cough rising in his chest as he choked on the blood in his throat. Julie's first instinct was to run to him, drop to her knees beside him and tell him everything would be ok. But she stumbled backwards several steps and lunged for the phone on the hall table. Michael was groaning and blood was spreading across the white tiles like spilt wine. The man came after Julie with long fast strides. She snatched the phone and punched in the first nine as she backed away from him, but he was on her in seconds, grabbing a fistful of hair and shoving her to the ground. A grunt of pain escaped her lips as the breath was knocked out of her lungs. She tried to roll onto her side, winded, but the man was kneeling over her with the bloody knife in his hand.

"Please don't hurt me!" she begged, trying to drag herself away from him.

"Always the same with you people, grovelling for your lives when faced with death," he muttered disappointedly.

"Don't hurt her!" Michael groaned from where he lay, but the intruder ignored him and pressed more of his weight onto Julie. She coughed at the restriction on her chest, but the adrenaline rushing through her veins told her to stop wriggling. Her eyes were wide as she watched the stranger wipe Michael's blood off his blade on her white shirt. And then he reached up with a gloved hand and pulled the ski mask away from his face.

"It was nice to meet you Julie," he smiled down at her before pressing the blade against her skin.


	10. Chapter 10

10.

JJ woke with a start, her heart beating fast in her chest from the nightmare which had invaded her peaceful sleep. She checked her surroundings, a prickling feeling causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end despite the warmth of the room. Icy fingers tiptoed down her spine and she experienced the feeling of being watched. Her rational brain knew that nothing was unusual about the house, nothing out of the ordinary, but something at the back of her mind was telling her not to go back to sleep. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, watching as the numbers flashed 3.14. Will slept silently beside her on his side, his body rising and falling slightly with each breath. JJ shook her head and blew out a sigh, waiting for her heart rate to return to normal before slowly lying back down. She stared up at the ceiling, listening to Will's quiet breathing as she tried to shake off the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She put it down to her nightmare and then she blamed it on this case the BAU were working on. There was something about it which made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Just then there was a thud which sounded like it came from downstairs. JJ's eyes flew wide open and her body went stiff. She turned over and put a hand on Will, shaking him gently into awareness.

"Will, I think I heard someone downstairs…" she whispered.

With a groan, Will rolled onto his back without opening his eyes and listened in the darkness for any other sound. They lay there for a few moments which stretched on for what seemed like a lifetime; long enough for JJ to doubt whether she'd heard anything at all or if it had been her imagination playing cruel tricks on her.

"There's no one there JJ, go back to sleep," Will breathed, reaching for her. But she couldn't settle. She was sure she had heard something, and even if it was nothing, she wanted to check.

"No Will, I think we should check," she whispered, but she could already hear his steady breathing which told her he had settled back into sleep. Unable to follow in his footsteps, she pushed the duvet aside and silently reached for her gun in the top drawer of her bedside table. Holding it low she nudged the bedroom door open and slipped into the hallway. Her footsteps made no noise as she moved towards Henry's room. He was sleeping in the same position he had been when JJ had put him to bed, his gentle snores assuring her that he was dreaming peacefully. Content, she shut the door over and headed for the stairs. The bottom floor of the house was empty; no sign of anything out of the ordinary, but the uneasiness wouldn't lift off her mind. Then another thud caught her attention and she spun towards the front door. The latch was on, restricting the doors movement, but it was unlocked and open ajar, causing it to bang slightly against the chain as the wind tugged past it. Will had been the last to bed that night and JJ let out an exasperated but relieved sigh as she tucked the gun into the waistband of her pajama bottoms and pushed the door closed, sliding the bolt firmly across. She climbed the stairs back to her room with less care for silence than before. She slid back into bed and shook Will awake again.

"You left the front door unlocked," she said as he blinked his eyes open and turned to face her.

"No, I definitely locked it," he mumbled with a frown.

"It was unlocked, Will," she said again, propping herself up on her elbow.

"JJ I'm a trained cop with knowledge of safety and a love for my family, meaning I want to keep us safe which therefore also means I always lock all the doors. Last night is no exception to that rule, I locked the door," Will assured her. JJ rolled her eyes and dropped her head back against the pillow.

"Well Mr Nobody must have unlocked it in the night," she sighed, closing her eyes. The uneasy feeling was still settled on her stomach, but after she heard Will's familiar breathing fall back into a quiet rhythm, she heard no other strange sounds in the house. Soon she was too tired to keep her eyes open and she felt herself drift into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

The team were called to the mortuary the next day to inspect yet another body. But this time, two victims lay on morgue slabs with white sheets pulled up to their necks.

"This is Mr and Mrs Jessops, killed last night in their home after arriving back from their honeymoon. Married less than a month and here they lie," the pathologist sighed sadly as she washed her hands.

"Michael Jessops died from loss of blood from a single stab wound to his back which perforated his lung. I put his cause of death before Julie's. Julie Jessops' cause of death was from a stab wound in the neck which cut through the carotid artery," she explained.

"So the husband was collateral damage," Blake asked as she looked over Mr Jessops body.

"I think so," Hotch sighed, looking down at the photos of the crime scene. The killer's signature was scrawled across both of the girl's wrists. He then glanced back at the body and frowned.

"Whatever was used to write on the body was pressed deep and broke the skin," the pathologist explained, following his gaze.

"It's an angrier killing," JJ sighed, "he's escalating and we still know nothing about him."

"Oh and I found this in Julie's clothing, tucked into her jeans," the pathologist turned away and rummaged in a box which contained the Jessops clothes. She pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Hotch. On the front was a label which read 'for the attention of the FBI', scribbled in the same red pen as the one which marked the victims bodies. Hotch asked for a pair of latex gloves which he snapped over his hands before carefully opening the envelope. Inside was a piece of plain white paper with four typed words on it.

"'_What's in a name_'," Hotch read aloud before facing the rest of the team, "we need to get this sent off for prints right away."

* * *

When the team got back to the office, Garcia rushed out of her office and tottered towards them in her florescent pink heels waving a sheet of paper in her outstretched hand.

"Sir, I think this is something you might want to see!" she called, waving the paper in front of Hotch's face. He took the paper from her with a frown and assessed the list of names typed there.

"I don't understand," he said after reading them several times.

"Well, when you phoned and told me about the letter that the killer left behind for you, I had an idea so I dug extremely deep, and let me tell you it's possibly the furthest I've been into the underbelly of government files and data…" Penelope cried, falling over her words as she fought to let them escape. Her mind did always work faster than her mouth. "And I managed to pull up some data on Hollie's previous life. So her birth name is Jade Jacobs and this leads me to my next point! Upon finding out Hollie's real name I decided to look into the other victims' and here's where it gets interesting, or extremely creepy. Your first victim, Rhodes, was going through a divorce to a man called Harold Jamieson; Halsall's maiden name was Jackson; and your latest victim recently married into the Jessops family. All these women have the same initials, Hotch, I mean that can't be a coincidence," she finished.

"JJ," she whispered her own initials as a shiver ran up her spine.

"The only anomaly to my theory is Roxie Hendriks, who was found to have had sexual relations with our guy before her death. His DNA was found on your envelope and on her body which therefore links her to your guy." Garcia grinned. There was little to be argued with.

"Looks like this case is a lot more personal than this unsub wants us to know."


	11. Chapter 11

11.

"There are hundreds of JJ's in the city…" Garcia muttered, "there's no way of finding who could be next."

"Garcia can you find out what years these women changed their names?" Reid asked, rushing towards the whiteboard where he began to write the victims' names in order of their deaths. Garcia turned on her heel and rushed to her office. Seconds later she returned with her tablet in her hands. Her fingers flew across the screen as she pulled up all the files she needed, reading out dates and names.

"So these women were killed in the order that they changed their names. Maybe that's a way we can find out the next victim before they're killed," Blake said after Reid wrote down the last date next to Julie Jessops name.

"So our unsub maybe had a bad experience with a woman with JJ as her initials?" JJ asked, back into professional mode after the initial shock of hearing the victims all owned the same name initials she did.

"Garcia, who else would have access to the information on Hollie Jacobs?" Hotch asked, circling her name on the board.

"Well, anybody who was involved in creating her new identity, anyone with access to government files and any technical genius like yours truly," Garcia explained in a rush, taking a slight bow as she referenced herself, "but I mean it took some digging to find her, unless he was looking for her I doubt he would have come across her name by accident. Our government do a good job of giving people new identities I can tell you that for sure." She continued.

"We can rule out the possibility of him knowing her as Jade because she moved away from her hometown and she wasn't the initial target. I want a list of names drawn up as soon as possible with names of people who work in data and would have had access to the files," Hotch ordered. Penelope gave a slight nod and with her tablet under her arm she scurried away up the stairs towards her office.

"We're never going to alert this many women that they're a potential victim," JJ sighed.

"I think it's time to go to the press," Hotch said, but frown lines circled his eyes and his lips were pulled into a tight line, "I'll get somebody else to appear in front of the camera, I don't want to highlight the fact that we have a JJ on this team."

"The rest of you have enough to do, Hotch. I don't even have to say what my name is. If we're warning women, I think its best coming from a woman and with all due respect to Blake, I'm the only one trained to deal with a press conference," she argued. Hotch pursed his lips and then opened his mouth to argue, but JJ's words rang true. The team couldn't afford for the press conference not to work.

"You keep your name out of it, understood?"

* * *

The press were gathered like vultures at a carcass, microphones and TV crews at the ready, all waiting for the top story and first interview. Hotch finished giving JJ the prep talk on the case, reminding her of the important details and making sure she knew what to omit from her warning. After straightening her blazer and brushing her hair neatly behind her ears, JJ stepped out into the mob of reporters. The lull of quiet muttering voices erupted into a burst of excitement and movement, cameras flashing from every angle and questions were thrown up at her like demanding children. Unfazed by the intrusive atmosphere, JJ strode to the podium which had been set up moments before and faced the crowd with no sign of a smile on her face. A wave of quiet washed over the swarm of people, disturbed only by the occasional snap of a camera flash or the shuffling of feet. Well-dressed women wearing suits and eager smiles forced microphones in JJ's direction, waiting for her to speak and give the papers something juicy to over sensationalise. She took a deep breath and looking directly into the news camera in front of her which would beam the information into homes of women across the country, she began.

"We have reason to believe that a serial killer is indeed operating in Quantico. The FBI is unable to give an official profile at this time, but I am standing here to offer you some information and a preliminary warning. All women should take extra care during these times, particularly at night. If possible, do not travel on foot alone. We are issuing a higher degree of warning to those women who may have the initials 'JJ', whether born with them or not. The man we are looking for is socially capable and has a way with women. He appears charming, good looking, well kept, possibly with a family and a steady job. We are doing everything we can to catch this killer and we are currently following up potential leads. Thank you all for your cooperation and support," she finished with a warm smile. As her words came to an end, so did the quiet surrounding her. Questions were fired one after another, voices layered upon voices, each getting more desperate and demanding.

"What are we supposed to do with this information?" "How are we supposed to protect ourselves?" "What must women do to defend themselves?" "How close are you to catching this guy?"

One by one, JJ dealt with as many of the journalists' queries as she could, dealing with the information carefully. She could see Hotch out of the corner of her eye stood where he had been through the press conference, and now she caught him glance down at his watch and tap it twice. JJ nodded subtly and excused herself from the stand.

"That's all we have time for," she called before she was hurried along by several uniformed police officers back into the building where she joined her unit chief, leaving behind the squabble of reporters all still shouting questions at her and snapping their cameras to get the shots for the morning papers.

* * *

After a long day, he decided it was time to go home. As usual, his boss had treated him like a slave, ordering him around like he owned his soul and his colleagues had ignored his instructions on how to use the new programming software. After he pushed out of the office, clocking his ID though the machine on his way out, he stalked to his car and slammed the door shut behind him. Once safely inside, he scrubbed a hand angrily through his short hair and lashed out, smacking his fist into the dashboard. The plastic radio screen crunched under the force and he pulled his hand away with a grown of pain. After inspecting his knuckles, and pulling several shards of broken plastic out of his cut hand, he revved the engine loudly and tore out of the parking lot, working all his frustration and anger at his boss and team mates into the accelerator as he sped towards home.

* * *

JJ handed the list of names she had been working on back to Hotch and waited as his eyes scanned through it briefly. All alibis checked out for the first hundred names Garcia had drawn up of potential suspects.

"I've got a second set to get through to, that's just the first of it all," she sighed, deflated. They were no closer, and this man was still out there on the prowl for his next victim. She glanced down at her watch, shocked that it had taken her the majority of the afternoon to ring through a hundred alibis.

"Thanks JJ, you did well today. Go and get some rest. You need to see your son," Hotch smiled, the tension still tight behind his eyes as another day came to a close without the killer behind bars. He knew what it was like to have a family waiting at home for you to come home, and she appreciated his offer of an early finish.

"Thanks Hotch," she smiled gratefully, "see you tomorrow."


	12. Chapter 12

12.

JJ pulled up at Henry's child minders just a little after 6. Caroline answered the door with a wide smile and Henry at her side. He was already ready with his backpack packed and lunchbox in hand.

"Mummy!" he called, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Hi little man, I missed you today!" she grinned, lifting him up into her arms and kissing his cheek, "thanks as always Caroline, you don't realise how much of a help you are to us."

"He's never any trouble, he's a gem to look after," the fresh faced child minder assured her.

"Thanks again," JJ smiled, dropping Henry gently onto his feet and taking his hand. She led him to the car, strapped him in and waved to Caroline before pulling onto the main road.

* * *

As much as she loved her son, she was glad when he was tucked up in bed and she could pour herself a glass of wine and let her mind unwind. For the three hours she had spent with him this evening, she had not stopped moving and he had not stopped chatting. Henry had requested ice cream, and after the day JJ had had, she was happy to take him to the park and grab some, despite the 6 o'clock sugar rule. He had stayed up past his bedtime of 8pm and skipped a bath in favour of a shower. Finally at 9.30, she wrestled him into his favourite 'Monsters Inc.' pj's and into bed. After kissing him goodnight, she flicked the light out and left him with the soft glow of the nightlight.

It was a relief when she could finally sit down and breathe a heavy sigh in the silence. Dropping her head back against the back of the sofa, she closed her eyes briefly, only to be dragged under by the heavy allure of sleep.

JJ jerked herself awake and sat bolt upright, causing the wine glass she held in her hand to tip, spilling dark red liquid down the front of her pale blue blouse. Cursing under her breath, she placed the glass on the coffee table and was about to go and get changed when she heard a heavy slam against the window. The noise startled her and she froze where she stood, listening. Two more thuds followed as if someone was struggling to knock on the glass.

"Jenny it's me, Simon, I've got Will with me, could do with some help," a voice called from outside and JJ couldn't help but smile with relief. She rushed to the front door, flipped the latch and two men fell into the house. With a grunt, Simon stumbled to his feet and JJ helped him right Will.

"We just went for a few drinks down at the pub, and…" Simon began, but was interrupted by his own snort of laughter. Will swayed on his feet and there was a faraway look in his eyes.

"Did you boys have a good night?" JJ asked, unable to resist smiling at her wobbly husband. She must have been asleep for an hour or so because it was full dark outside. Her suspicions were confirmed when she glanced at her watch and the hands ticked past eleven.

"Good to see you Jenny," Simon slurred slightly, hooking an arm across her shoulders and planting a kiss to the top of her head. She pushed the door closed and helped Simon get Will up the stairs and into bed. He was in a more sober state than her husband.

"I love you JJ, you and Henry mean everything to me, give me a kiss," he mumbled as she dragged his jeans down his legs and pulled the duvet around him. She couldn't help but laugh at his drunken statement.

"See you in the morning Will," she smiled. He took her hand and placed a kiss on the palm before his hand dropped to the mattress. Simon straightened up and dragged a hand across his jawline.

"Wouldn't mind a glass of water, JJ," he grinned warmly as he followed her down the stairs.

"Of course," she replied, leading the way to the kitchen.

"What did you do to your shirt?" Simon asked as he slithered onto a barstool and leaned across the counter.

"Spilt wine," she said with her back turned as she filled a glass from the tap.

"That's unlucky," Simon laughed. Always the joker.

"I've had a busy day," she sighed.

"I saw you on the news."

"It was the only way to get the information to the majority."

"Are you worried, JJ?" he asked, something in his voice changing from the joker her had been moments before.

JJ turned to look at him, not used to hearing him call her by the name everybody else used. He cocked his head to one side, waiting for her answer.

"You mean am I worried for myself? No I'm not. I just want to catch this guy."

"You didn't use your name on the TV," he continued, curiously.

"My boss didn't want to draw attention to the fact I have the same initials as the victims," she said.

"Seems like a strange reason to kill someone, their name," Simon frowned, tipping the glass to his lips and finishing the water. There was no empathy in his voice, and his eyes were dark with something JJ couldn't place.

"I've dealt with stranger cases," JJ laughed, rolling her eyes. Simon didn't laugh.

"Do you think a JJ pissed him off at some point in his life?" he asked, turning his eyes on her. She squirmed under his intense gaze, an uneasy feeling creeping up her spine, raising the hairs across her skin.

"Possibly," she answered carefully.

"What would annoy someone so much, it would drive them to kill?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What did you do to your hand?" JJ asked, catching a glimpse of the grazes on Simon's knuckles. He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers slowly while assessing the cuts.

"Must have been when I fell before with Will. Oh what a guy, hey," he laughed darkly.

"Is everything ok, Simon?" JJ asked with a frown, "you seem agitated. Maybe you should go home and get some sleep…" she suggested, sliding off the barstool and taking a step away from the counter. Everything in her body was screaming warning signs. Something wasn't right with Simon, and she was worried that the alcohol was having a negative effect on him.

"Oh to my lovely wife?" he scoffed, slamming the glass forcefully across the counter so that it toppled off the other side, shattering on the floor sending shards scattering across the tiles. JJ jumped slightly but didn't move to clear it up.

"It's getting late," JJ said, "wont she be wondering where you are?"

"She looks at me with disgust! She's terrified of me; she avoids me and cringes when I move near her. I've been sleeping on the sofa for weeks," he cried, laughing humourlessly.

"Why Simon, what's she afraid of?" she asked, backing further away from him.

"See that look in your eyes now, I see that reflected in hers all the time. Because she knows what I'm capable of, JJ, and soon you will too."


	13. Chapter 13

13.

JJ's first reaction was confusion. When Simon reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun, it changed to fear. As if by instinct, she slowly raised her hands into the air until they were level with her head.

"Simon, put the gun down," she said quietly, offering him an easy way out, just like she would if she were faced with any other armed unsub.

"Don't talk to me like that Jenny, like I'm someone you and your team profiled!" he spat fiercely, tipping the gun to his own head and using the barrel to scratch an itch, "you had no clue, no idea, who you were dealing with." He finished, aiming the gun back at her.

"You sure did have us stumped. We were getting nowhere," she said carefully, trying a different approach. Simon was clearly a narcissist and she played to his ego in the hope that she would win him over or at least distract him. Her heart was hammering painfully in her chest and she thought of her baby sleeping upstairs. If anything happened to her… She shook the train of thought away and refocused her attention on Simon and the gun he was waving in her direction.

"That's because none of your mind tricks and profiling techniques work on me. I'm smarter than any of your FBI agents, and that gave me the power to work undetected. You would never have caught me!" he scoffed.

"Then why come here tonight? Why do this?" JJ asked, gesturing between them, "you were never even a suspect in our case." She was trying her best to conceal her fear, hide the terror she felt in the bottom of her stomach and back of her throat. One bullet from his gun was all it would take. At close range, there was no way he would miss, no way she would survive. She knew Simon and Will spent time at the shooting range, knew he was a good shot. This was not her first time staring down the barrel of a gun, but in the safety of her bulletproof vest and with her own weapon in her hand, things felt different and she was a lot less afraid. Now her life was truly on the line.

"It would all be for nothing without your death Jenny," he smiled wickedly, his eyes sparkling dangerously with excitement.

"But why Simon, why me? You and Will have been friends for years! You babysit my son!" she cried, her stomach rolling with a deep sickness. She had left Henry with this psychopath. She hated him, a deep hate she had never felt for anybody before now.

"I love that boy like he's my own and would never do anything to hurt him," he laughed, a hint of the Simon she know flashing up in his eyes "but you, Jenny, you took Will away from me. We were inseparable, him and I, through college and university. Then he met you and he really changed. He was never the same. You ruined us!" he snapped, all traces of kindness evaporating.

"You think he'll ever speak to you again if you hurt me?" JJ hissed. At her words, Simon faltered, readjusting his grip on the gun and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Then a slow cruel smirk lifted the corners of his lips as his confidence returned.

"But when the gunman burst in here tonight, I tried to save you… I was too late, of course, but there you go. A sad tragedy but he'll get over it because I'll be there for him. Just like old times." He shook his head with mock regret as he spoke.

"He loves you with or without me. You're his best friend, I never changed that. Our family… Why are you doing this?" she cried, "Roxie Hendriks was 19!"

"Roxie…" he cocked his head to one side as he mulled over the name, "oh the pretty one! She was fun. I never wanted to hurt her but if my wife ever found out what we did that night…" he smiled with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"And Julie, married for barely a second before you took her life away from her," JJ spat.

"Who needs marriage anyway, hey," he hiked his shoulders, his tone casual as if talking about the weather.

"You were smart with Hollie though, I'll give you that. She threw us, not fitting in with your JJ pattern," she said. One of Simon's eyes twitched slightly as she spoke, undetectable to anybody untrained and his mouth tightened to a hard line.

"We were smarter though," she smirked.

With that, Simon surged forwards, lunging at JJ but stopping just short of her. She shied away, closing her eyes as she braced herself for the impact.

"You're beginning to fit our profile. Work with computers, charming, job, family…" JJ thought out loud as Simon swung away from her and then aimed the weapon back at her. She didn't dare move, "you're a hacker?" she guessed. He said nothing, confirming her suspicions.

"You can't profile me!" Simon snapped.

"Anyone can be profiled."

"You know I killed my first victim when I was 16," Simon smiled, "does that fit your profile? I was brought up in a functional home, mother and father and younger sister. I never tortured puppies or killed little animals. I did well at school, had friends, held relationships, have had a job for several years."

"What changed for you?" she asked.

"My best friend at the time, Luke, and I both went to summer camp with school. I liked this girl, Natalie. She was beautiful, pure beauty with long brown hair and green eyes. Luke told me to ask her out, and when I did, she laughed in my face and I was mortified. A couple of days later, at a party down by the lake, I caught Natalie and Luke together by the water. I was of course heartbroken. She was never going to take my best friend away from me, so she had a drunken accident that night. She was found the next morning, drowned in the Lake. Her death was ruled as accidental," Simon smirked, his voice low as if concealing a secret. JJ's blood was ice cold as she listened to the story, "I think it's safe to say me and Luke were not friends much longer. So when I met Will, I made an Oath that I would never let a girl come between us. Guess what happened, Jenny. You came along, and you ruined everything!" he snarled, circling closer like a hyena stalked its prey. As he stepped behind her, he prodded the barrel of the gun into the back of JJ's neck. She flinched and inhaled a gasp, closing her eyes and expecting this to be the end. A tear slowly made tracks down her cheek.

"Bang," Simon hissed in her ear and she choked on a sob.

"Simon please, Henry is just a child. He needs his Mum. Don't do this…" JJ pleaded. The words sounded foreign coming out of her mouth. She had never begged for anything in her life, but she didn't want to die in her kitchen with her baby sleeping upstairs. She wanted to be around to send him off to high school, move him into his dorm room at college, and stand at his wedding… She wasn't ready to die. She brushed the tears away from her face, hoping Simon wouldn't see her weakness.

"Pathetic," he laughed, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around to face him, "Get on your knees and beg for your life!" he snapped, and in one swift movement he brought his knee up into her stomach, putting all his force behind it. With a grunt, she doubled over and her palms connected with the tiled floor, hard. The breath was knocked out of her lungs and she felt as though a huge elastic band was tightening around her chest.

"Simon…" she gasped, "you don't have to do this!"

His fist connected with her face and she cried out in pain.

"Not convincing enough!" he snarled, crouching down and flexing his knuckles in front of her face.

She coughed and a sliver of blood trickled down her chin. Pain was bursting behind her eyes and through her nose. Her throat was flooded with blood and she groaned as her hands gave way and she crumpled on the tiles. Her vision was spinning, blurring in and out of focus.

"How terrible your death will be, such a loss to the FBI," Simon sniggered.

Just then, the image of Henry finding her body flashed in her mind and a sickening fear crippled her. Simon was looking past her, his lips tilted in a sly smirk, and JJ saw her chance. She lunged forward, grabbing the gun and attempting to twist it away from her. Simon let out a low and angry growl, but he was pushed off balance and toppled onto his back. JJ overpowered him, her cries loud enough to wake the entire street. Simon rolled until he was on top of her, straddling her hips and stopping her from getting a knee up. In the struggle, JJ managed to knock the gun out of his hand, sending it spinning across the tiled floor. Simon tried to punch her again, but she twisted and drove an elbow into his face. His nose made a sickening crunch and he fell backwards, crying out in pain and moving to clutch his face. JJ took the opportunity to pull herself up onto her hands and knees and scramble across the floor. She made it to the gun, her hands fumbling to slip the safety off. She swung around to aim at Simon, but he was too fast. Two sets of hands snatched at the weapon, fighting for control, fighting for dominance.

One gunshot rang out, loud and clear.

Both bodies froze, eyes wide and mouths open.


	14. Chapter 14

14.

There was blood everywhere, spilling into the cracks in the tiles and spreading like veins across the pure white kitchen floor. Yellow police tape cordoned off the room, separating it from the rest of the house just like every other crime scene the BAU witnessed.

The team had received the call that there had been gunshots fired at JJ's place and in a panic, with dread filling their bodies, they had all made their way to her house. With the little information that they had been given, they all expected the worst; JJ's body on a slab in the mortuary just like the other victims, a distraught Will and confused Henry to console and explain to. They had all pulled up to their teammate's home in their own cars. There had been no time to meet at the office first and pool in the SUV's.

Now they paced back and forth in JJ's house, getting a glimpse at her personal and private world in much unwanted and unwelcome circumstances.


	15. Chapter 15

15.

The gunshot was loud and despite only lasting a moment, the ringing in JJ's ears would not fade so quickly. She gasped, her eyes meeting Simon's as the two held still, unsure of how to react. JJ's finger was on the trigger. Blood was spreading across the front of her blouse just as the wine had not hours before. Simon grunted and tried to shift his weight. The barrel of the gun was pointing away from JJ and pressing into Simon's gut. His eyes were wide and JJ watched as his pupils grew large and black in his sockets. She let out a short sob as his body went limp over hers, his entire weight pressing down on her. His breathing was coming in short intakes, and JJ shuffled desperately out from beneath him. With a groan, he rolled onto his side and put a hand over the wound, his skin immediately stained red with blood. JJ pulled herself to her feet, and with shaking hands she pointed the gun at Simon.

"The police will be on their way, and you'll be going away for a long time if you're not already dead," she hissed through gritted teeth, unable to control the slight waver in her voice. She could already hear sirens in the distance, the sound of safety travelling closer and closer. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position, but his body was going into shock and he could barely move. His teeth chattered together and he reached towards her with slippery hands.

"Jenny…" he breathed and she winced as the words left his mouth.

"My name… is not… Jenny…" she said, her words dripping with quiet venom.

Just then she heard the sound of a gentle cry and the familiar pitter-pattering of feet on the landing. She lowered the weapon in her hand and turned instinctively toward the sound. Tucking the gun into the waistband of her jeans and covering it with the back of her blouse, she hurried into the hallway and to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey baby," she whispered, looking up at the tiny form of Henry who was stood midway down the stairs. In his onesie, he held his favourite blue bunny rabbit teddy close to his chest, the ears worn from years of cuddles and play times. That bunny went everywhere with them. Wherever Henry went, Blu went too. As he was growing older, he tried to conceal his love for that teddy, but whether in secret or proudly on show, Blu was always close by. And right now, Henry clutched the bunny so tightly that it broke JJ's heart to see him so scared and vulnerable.

"A loud bang woke me up Mommy, I can't sleep. You're bleeding Mommy," he cried, one arm outstretched as he pointed to the bloodstains and began to cry harder. She glanced down at her body and ran a bloody hand across her cheek to wipe away the tear stains. She tried to force a reassuring smile, but her voice broke as she tried to tell him everything was ok.

"I just had a little accident that's all, let's get you back to bed sweetheart," she whispered, slowly climbing the stairs towards him. He let her lift him into her arms and then she hurried him up the stairs away from the danger which lurked below. She ducked her head into the main bedroom where Will was still passed out, blissfully unaware of the nights events. She then turned into the en suite bathroom and dropped Henry to his feet inside.

"Tonight is a special night Honey, and I want you to do Mommy a big favour okay?" she asked, brushing his hair away from his face.

"JJ!" there was screaming from downstairs, and she glanced fearfully over her shoulder as Simon yelled her name. Henry grabbed one of her trembling hands and squeezed tight. She turned back to face him, his scared eyes staring up at her to gage her reaction to the strange yelling.

"It's okay baby, it's just one of Daddy's silly friends. He needs my help ok, so I'm going down stairs but I want you to stay in here, you hear me?" she said, keeping her tone light and playful. He faltered but nodded briefly, all trusting of his mother but afraid nonetheless, "do you know how to lock this door? You just slide this bolt across. Now I want you to listen carefully."

"Jenny! I will find you, this isn't the end!" the screaming continued, and Henry coughed out a scared sob.

"Don't you worry, everything will be fine. We're playing a game, and I want you to lock this door when I leave, and I don't want you to open it to anybody but me, do you understand?" she asked, panic coursing through her body. If nothing else, she wanted Henry to be safe. She never wanted anything, or anybody, to hurt him. He nodded again and JJ planted a quick kiss on his head before leaving the bathroom. The door clicked behind her and she heard the lock slide into place. On her way out, she tugged on Will's shoulder. His body rolled lifelessly onto his back.

"Will wake up!" she hissed, but his breathing was slow and laboured. She cursed under her breath, took the gun in her hands, and jogged down the stairs. Simon had dragged himself into a sitting position and was propped up against the breakfast bar. A trail of blood surrounded him, and his face was shockingly white. If help didn't arrive soon, he would die.

JJ wasn't sure if she was worried by this thought.

The authorities would have been alerted to the gunshots. There was no need to call them herself. Sure that would make reaction time quicker, but she wanted to see him suffer, just like he had with those girls. She made her way to the bottom of the stairs and took a seat, the gun hanging loosely in one of her hands. She was exhausted physically and mentally.

And that's how they found her, huddled in the darkness of her hallway. The police burst through her door first, orders shouted and footsteps marching through her house. The world was a blur around her, fading sounds echoing in and out of focus. Voices shouted at her, paramedics hustled to and from her, questions rallied around her. She couldn't take any of it in, only let it happen to her. She remembered Hotch rushing towards her, dropping to a crouch and sliding the gun carefully from her grip before running his hands up along her cheeks. He forced her to look in his eyes, and that's when the world zoomed back into real time and she breathed a heavy sigh. Hotch pulled her towards him in a relieved embrace as the rest of the BAU team followed behind him into the house. They took in the police tape and paramedics before their eyes came to rest on JJ.

"Are you hurt?" they were saying. She shook her head no and then watched as Simon was loaded onto a gurney. Wires and oxygen were attached to him, handcuffs strapped him to the metal bed, and he was whisked away out of her home and loaded into an ambulance. They tried to make her go to the hospital too, but she refused.

* * *

Once the house was fairly quiet, JJ changed into a fresh shirt and coaxed Henry out of the bathroom. She tucked him into her bed and lay next to him while he fell asleep. Will was still out of it, and JJ was afraid it was more than just alcohol in his system. Tucking the covers around his sleeping form and Henry's, she padded back down the stairs and joined her team in the hallway. CSIs were sweeping her kitchen clean, but it would remain a crime scene for as long as JJ lived in that house.

"He tried to finish me off a couple of days ago. He couldn't get in because Will puts the latch on. But he could have killed me while I was sleeping if it hadn't been for that," JJ told them. She hadn't believed Will had remembered to lock the door, but now it made sense. Simon had a key, and he had tried to get in that night. If it wasn't for that chain, she'd probably be dead.

"I'll stay tonight," Blake offered, giving her a comforting smile.

"Thanks," JJ said, unable to return the gesture. Her eyes were heavy and her heart troubled.

"He was in my home…" she muttered, shaking her head and closing her eyes tight.

"Hey, it's over." Hotch said, and JJ took a deep breath.

"It's over…" she sighed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Three Months Later**

JJ had rejected the offer to take some time off work, although she did appreciate the thought. She took comfort in surrounding herself with case files and it was good for her to have other things to focus on. During work hours she could throw herself into the cases, her mind working out the riddles which surrounded her job. The time passed quickly and it was as if nothing had changed. For the first few weeks after, before the trial, she had avoided eye contact and kept her head down, unable to bear the worried and sympathetic glances of her colleagues who were all keeping an eye on how she was coping. But soon these passed and life seemed normal in the office. It was the time alone when she returned home which proved to be difficult for JJ. She would often return after dark, and her heart would skip a beat in her chest as she twisted the key in the lock; her mind would race as she flicked on the lights. And her memory would scream when she entered the kitchen.

After the trial, she felt as though a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she flashed Will the first genuine smile she had shown anybody in a long time as they walked through the court doors out into the sunshine. Simon would never see the light of day again; justice had been served. She could face the families of his victims now with a lighter conscience, and knew that they could grieve in quiet peace now that it was all over.

One evening, JJ and Will were curled up on the sofa, a terrible film playing on their TV as she held a glass of wine in her hand and Henry slept soundly in his bed. A thought occurred to JJ and she sat up straight. Several weeks later, deals were pushed through and their house was on the market. It sold fast and they moved out within the month, an unusually fast sale. They'd moved into their new house just three months after JJ's ordeal with the brutal serial killer, leaving their fear and dread behind to face what JJ hoped would be a very positive future. She could sleep soundly knowing one more killer was behind bars, and she was looking forward to clearing many more off the streets too.

Today was a good day, she thought.

* * *

**_Thank you everyone for the reviews and mostly for keeping reading. I hope to post more fics in the future when something inspires me. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed it :)_**

**_Much love_**

**_xoxo_**


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